Once, a long time ago, there was a revolution. Not one of social value (although it did change the way we perceived ourselves). Not one of political value, politics was yet to be truly born. It was the moment when Man realized that he could create fire. Back then, humanity lived in squalid caves, dying by the hundreds. Earth was not our world, it was undeveloped and was owned solely by nature. But that spark of fire changed everything. It gave us light.
Fast forward to the era when Man developed the first bronze tools to use. This was a era where great stories were told; stories of Gods, of Demigods; of great heroes who would save those in need. While the people sat entranced by the village elders, the wars of fledgling civilisations split blood onto the Earth's soil. In a strange way, this both set the stage for what was to come, and consecrated the Earth. Man was beginning to claim his own world.
Time after time, civilisations rose and fell. Man fought war after war, killing in the dozens. We built weapons that could annihilate whole cities. Men fought with machines now, not sticks and stones. Eventually, people began to wonder what good was listening to ineffectual leaders, what good was sending your children away to die on lands afar. This all changed, with eleven words. Words that would change the world:
"That's One small Step for man; One Giant leap for mankind;"
Man had finally left the confines of our planet, something that would eventually let us leave our solar system. But before that came the rise of Terrorism, the Resource Wars, and the Third World War. For nearly a hundred years after those words, Man was too busy rebuilding itself and improving on our understanding of science. Then, a miracle happened.
Corporations may have ruled the earth after the Third World War, but one man changed the human race forever. Lin Quin Jao was the inventor of the very first Frame Shift Drive; a device that utilised the Alcubierre Metric to allow us to go faster than the speed of light. We began building outwards, creating a interstellar civilisation. Three factions arose, ones that would eventually become distinct civilisations of their own
The Federation was built on the constitution of the ancient United States of America. Built upon smothering layers of Bureaucracy, and controlled by the corporations that created it, they became the biggest power in the galaxy. Now lead by President Zachary Hudson, the Federation bought forth the legacy of the great nation that was it's direct predecessor. Technologically dependant and immensely influential, the Federation anchored itself to the human homesystem of Sol.
The Empire split off from the Federation around the year 2296, and adopted a constitutional monarchy as their government. Less dependant on technology, and boasting a human slave trade, they were less like a spacefaring civilisation, and more like the decadent aristocracy of the 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. While their 'Barbaric' tendacies put them at odds with the Federation, both were equally guilty of just as many flaws as the other.
The final superpower, as well as the smallest, is the Alliance. Founded as a union of independent systems sick of the petty squabbles between the two other major powers, they exist to protect the systems that would otherwise fall prey to the battles of the other powers. They are considerably weaker than the other powers, but hold a unique position of a mediator for the two powers when it is necessary.
Finally, there is another power, one which is not explicitly political, but still plays a major role in the lives of Pilots like me. The Pilot's Federation is the organisation responsible for managing and protecting the rights of the millions of independent pilots like myself who live our lives between the stars. Their ranking system has been responsible for many great heroes. They exist to make sure that we, the free men and women of the galaxy get our say in how the Galaxy works. But, they cannot do much against the common foe of Mankind: The Thargoids
The Thargoids. A race of alien beings possible from another galaxy, or another universe entirely. Flying biomechanical vessels that are more advanced than anything that Mankind has in our arsenal. They are encroaching on our space, destroying convoys, killing any who dare oppose them. Why am I writing this down? I hope to put down a record that will tell the true tale of the events surrounding the Antares Conflict, and the actions of my friends and I: the pilots of the Elite Wing.
